Pioneer Talks CarPlay: Working with Apple, Pricing, and the Future

carplay_iconFollowing last month's formal introduction of Apple's CarPlay system for integrating iPhones with in-dash vehicle systems, there were some questions about whether the feature would be able to make its way to aftermarket products or if it would be limited to auto manufacturers putting it into brand-new vehicles. That question was answered earlier this month, with both Alpine and Pioneer announcing their plans to launch CarPlay-compatible systems.

Pioneer appears to be in the best position to move quickly with CarPlay, as its latest NEX systems already include CarPlay-compatible hardware, which will be enabled with a firmware update expected in early summer. In contrast, Alpine will not be launching its CarPlay support until the fall as part of new product debuts.

MacRumors recently spoke with Ted Cardenas, marketing vice president in Pioneer's car electronics division, and he shared a bit of perspective about CarPlay and its development. Far from being taken by surprise by Apple's CarPlay announcement last month, Cardenas notes that Apple signaled to Pioneer that there would be coming changes to in-car connectivity even prior to last year's Worldwide Developers Conference, where Apple first showed what was then known as iOS in the Car as part of its iOS 7 preview.

pioneer_carplay
According to Cardenas, development picked up in earnest in July of last year, with Apple putting together a dedicated team to help car manufacturers and aftermarket electronics companies build out their CarPlay support. Unsurprisingly, Apple took a fairly hands-on role in the process, sharing specifications and other information to assist Pioneer with its work.

Cardenas notes that Pioneer is "very excited" to be at the forefront of CarPlay, working with Apple to deliver solutions to consumers so that they don't need to wait to purchase a new car in order to experience the feature. He also points out that Pioneer has a particularly vested interest in getting CarPlay implementation right, as it may be one of the major factors influencing what brand and model of in-dash system to purchase, whereas CarPlay performance will undoubtedly be a much lower priority for customers looking to purchase an entirely new vehicle.

In addressing the entry cost for aftermarket CarPlay support, Cardenas acknowledges that the current $700-$1400 range for Pioneer's NEX series is higher than many consumers would like to see. But CarPlay requires robust technology, and the multi-core processors, significant RAM and onboard storage, and touchscreens needed in NEX systems for the feature all contribute to driving costs up. Pioneer is certainly looking to bring down that entry price for CarPlay-compatible systems and drive further expansion of the technology, but the company understandably won't have anything to announce on that front until after the CarPlay firmware update is delivered to the first wave of Pioneer products.

pioneer_us_nex_carplay_lineup

Pioneer's initial U.S. lineup of CarPlay-compatible NEX systems

Pioneer has a long history in consumer electronics and vehicle electronics in particular, and the company has long sought to embrace new technologies to enhance the customer experience. To that end, Pioneer was one of the first companies to make a significant effort into smartphone-car integration with its AppRadio system launched in 2011.

The firm is also supporting the MirrorLink consortium that is offering similar integration as CarPlay for non-Apple smartphones. Even with that support, Cardenas believes that CarPlay support will be very popular with consumers, given Apple's place in the market and users' desire for simplicity and seamless integration.

MacRumors also asked Cardenas about any potential plans to bring Wi-Fi support for CarPlay to Pioneer's products, but he had nothing further to share on the topic given than none of Pioneer's current NEX models offer Wi-Fi support. Volvo had initially reported that Wi-Fi support for CarPlay would be "coming in the near future", but the company quickly removed that statement from its press release and Apple has been silent about any plans to augment CarPlay with wireless connectivity to eliminate the need to directly connect the user's iPhone to the car via a cable.

On its CarPlay page, Apple notes that the feature is coming to specific models from Ferrari, Honda, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, and Volvo this year, although Honda has yet to make any announcement about its plans. Apple also lists Alpine and Pioneer as on board for aftermarket support, and there may yet be more announcements coming.

Related Roundup: CarPlay
Tag: Pioneer

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
macbook pro blue green

When Will Apple Release the M5 MacBook Pro?

Wednesday March 26, 2025 4:53 pm PDT by
Apple regularly refreshes the MacBook Pro models, and a new version that uses M5 series chips is in the works. Apple just finished refreshing most of the Mac lineup with M4 chips, and now it's time for the M5. Rumors suggest that we could see the first M5 MacBook Pro models this fall. Design There have been no rumors of a design update for the M5 MacBook Pro models that are coming this...
Apple Lumon Terminal Pro

Apple's Mac Site Features Fictional 'Lumon Terminal Pro'

Wednesday March 26, 2025 12:19 pm PDT by
Apple is going all out with promotions for the popular Severance Apple TV+ show today, and as of right now, you'll find a new "Lumon Terminal Pro" listed on Apple's Mac site. The Lumon Terminal Pro is designed to look similar to the machines that Severance employees like Mark S. and Helly R. use for macrodata refinement. The Terminal features a blue keyboard, a small display with wide...
Facebook Feature

Facebook's New iPhone App Feature Turns the Clock Back to 2007

Thursday March 27, 2025 1:59 pm PDT by
In the mid-to-late 2000s, Facebook was all about staying connected with friends and family. However, as the social media platform added new features and grew over time, that core experience began to get drowned out. That changes starting now, according to Meta, which today introduced a new feature that will "bring back the joy" of classic Facebook. Specifically, Meta has redesigned the...
Generic iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Coming Soon With These New Features for Your iPhone

Tuesday March 25, 2025 6:45 am PDT by
Apple is expected to release iOS 18.4 to the general public as soon as next week, following more than a month of beta testing. Apple's website says some iOS 18.4 features will be released in "early April," so the update should be out as early as Tuesday, April 1. Apple this week seeded the iOS 18.4 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, barring the discovery of any...
iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Supports 8K Video Recording, Suggests Leaker [Updated]

Wednesday March 26, 2025 4:06 am PDT by
Update 7:25 pm: Based on comments from our forums, it appears the original Weibo post may have been mistranslated and "8K" actually refers to the high price of the device rather than 8K video recording capabilities. The iPhone 16 Pro currently starts at 7,999 yuan in China. Our original article follows below. Apple's forthcoming iPhone 17 Pro models are capable of shooting 8K video, up...
iOS 18 4 Ambient Music Control Center

How to Use iOS 18.4's New Ambient Music Feature in Control Center

Thursday March 27, 2025 7:45 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 18.4 update for the iPhone adds an Ambient Music feature to Control Center. Below, we take a closer look at how it works. iOS 18.4 is currently in beta, so the Ambient Music feature is not widely available yet. The update will likely be released to the general public next week. To use the feature on iOS 18.4, open Control Center and tap on the plus sign in the top-left...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature 1

'iPhone Fold' to Feature Metallic Glass Hinge That Resists Deformation

Thursday March 27, 2025 4:21 am PDT by
Last week, we covered a report claiming that Apple's book-style foldable iPhone (or "iPhone Fold," as we are provisionally calling it here) will use liquid metal hinges to improve durability and help minimize screen creasing. Today, a Chinese leaker provided more details on the properties of this hinge material that help to clarify why Apple chose it for its first foldable device. According...
iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Expected Next Week - Here Are the Release Notes

Friday March 28, 2025 2:01 pm PDT by
With the second release candidate of iOS 18.4 that Apple seeded out today, the company finally provided us with release notes that give a full rundown on what to expect. There's an Apple Vision Pro app, new Apple Intelligence features for notifications and additional language support, plus an Apple News Food feature for Apple News+ subscribers, and several updates that should improve the...

Top Rated Comments

afro-ninja Avatar
143 months ago
I get that it can't be the cheapest, but how is what's basically a glorified iPhone mirror more expensive than the top-end iPhone?? :confused:
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
b-dogg Avatar
143 months ago
Why not just put a retina iPad mini in the centre console, and use Siri for voice commands. An iPhone could also be used as a wireless hotspot while driving for the iPad.
Getting this job done on my car next week! This is one they did last week on the same car as my one.
You need a cellular capable ipad mini though as there is no gps chip on the non-cellular model and hence no ability to use google maps or apple maps. You can put a separate SIM into the ipad or use your phone as a hotspot if you don't want to fork out on another data plan.



Carplay has the slight advantage over this as it has phone integration. I'll sit Carplay aftermarket out for 12-24 months and see how the bugs play out (if any) with pioneer and alpine. I'd imagine it may take a while for the 3rd party equipment people to get the units up to spec / firmware bugs squashed.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
brendu Avatar
143 months ago
Okay I love apple but this interface looks ugly as sin

Car companies should be allowed to skin the icons or do something

Ugh so ugly

I completely disagree. These things need to be extremely simple and clean and most of all consistent across devices and car models. When driving, the last thing you should be doing is fumbling around looking at a screen. By making is so simple and forcing all manufacturers to adopt the same deisgn it means whatever car I get into that has CarPlay, I get the same experience and can focus on driving rather than searching on a screen. Imagine renting a car and being told it has CarPlay which you may have in your car and then you go to use it and it looks completely different. That would suck and push people away from using it IMO.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
poppe Avatar
143 months ago
I get that it can't be the cheapest, but how is what's basically a glorified iPhone mirror more expensive than the top-end iPhone?? :confused:

You mean $649, 749, and 849 for an unlocked iPhone and the NEX systems start at 700 and range to 1400 and include a whole lot more hardware.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MartinAppleGuy Avatar
143 months ago
Why not just put a retina iPad mini in the centre console, and use Siri for voice commands. An iPhone could also be used as a wireless hotspot while driving for the iPad.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mac Fly (film) Avatar
143 months ago
I get that it can't be the cheapest, but how is what's basically a glorified iPhone mirror more expensive than the top-end iPhone?? :confused:

If they sold 9 million of these in three days the price would come down.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)